Kodály Institute

Kodály Institute of Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas at Lamar University

June 9 - June 28, 2019

The Kodály Institute of Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas provides an in-depth study of the Kodály Approach to music education pioneered by Hungarian pedagogue Zoltán Kodály.This summer, we are offering Levels I and II, with attention to concept sequencing and lesson planning for kindergarten and first grade music classrooms (Level I) and for the second and third grade music classrooms (Level II). If you have completed Level I at another program and would like to finish Level II here, please contact the program director.

Comprehensive musicianship through sight-singing, ear training, keyboard, and written skills in the pentatonic scale system will be developed. The program will also include collecting and analyzing song materials, conducting, choral ensemble, and special topics.

Participants will receive further information regarding book lists, housing, and other details upon registration.

May be taken for CPE credit as in-service training sponsored by Texas Education Agency. May be taken for 6 hours of graduate or undergraduate credit.

Program Tuition

Participants may attend the Kodály Institute through the Organization of American Kodály Educators certification program (tuition is $1300) or by taking a class for graduate or undergraduate credit through Lamar University. Undergraduate students within 12 hours of graduation may enroll for graduate credit.

TEA Continuing Professional Education Credit: Available for no additional fee.

Housing: On-campus housing is available for ~$60/night. Please contact program director for further information.

Scholarships

1) A limited number of full scholarships - covering certification expenses but not covering the $150 deposit - are available to active music educators in the Golden Triangle region of SETX. To be eligible you must be at least a part time K-12 music teacher in a public or private school in the area. These scholarships have been made possible by a generous grant from the EDAREN Foundation in support of music education in the Golden Triangle region. For more information and an application form, please contact Bryan Proksch at bproksch@lamar.edu.

2) If you are an alumnus or student of McNeese State University, scholarship assistance for a portion or the entirety of program fee (excepting the $150 deposit) is available. For further information contact Bryan Proksch at bproksch@lamar.edu.

3) The Kodály Educators of Texas offer assistance to Texas residents towards their Kodály certification tuition. Visit http://www.kodalytexas.com/ and click on "Scholarship" for more information and to apply. Their application deadline is usually around April 1 each year.

4) All students, regardless of their scholarship status, are strongly encouraged to apply for tuition assistance from the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) Their application deadline is Feb. 1. Please visit http://www.oake.org/scholarships-and-grants/ for details. You must be a member of OAKE, but membership is free to undergraduate and graduate students.

5) Students who are currently employed as music educators are strongly encouraged to contact their supervisor to see if professional development funds are available to them. Matching funds from our scholarship pool are available in the event that your school district has such a requirement.

6) Other scholarships are, on occasion, available if you do not meet the above criteria. Please contact bproksch@lamar.edu for more information.

Enrollment Deadline

March 1

Registration

OAKE Certification Program: $1,300

Participants registering for OAKE Certification Program only should register by March 1 by sending the registration form with payment of a $150 non-refundable deposit in order to ensure enrollment in the course. Do not send forms to the music department. The balance of the OAKE Certification Program fee ($1150) is due by June 5.

Participants who desire graduate course credit must pay the $1,300 fee, plus LU registration and tuition costs. Please submit the $150 Kodály Institute deposit (the remaining balance would then be $1,150) by March 1 and apply through the Be a Cardinal website and complete the Lamar University registration process by May 1.

PLEASE NOTE: No payments will be accepted by the music department. Please contact program director, Dr. Bryan Proksch, if you have questions or need more information.

Faculty Bios

Melonee Cooper

Melonee Cooper has served as the choir director for DeQuincy High School for the past 28 years. Choirs at DeQuincy High School have consistently received Superior ratings at District and State Assessments. Her choirs have performed at the ACDA Fall Vocal Conference on multiple occasions and regularly participated in ACDA Children, Youth, Women’s and Men’s All-State Choirs, as well as LMEA All-State and National OAKE Choirs. She received her education from Louisiana State University and McNeese State University. She holds a Masters of Music Education and received her Kodaly Certification at the Kodaly Institute at McNeese in 1994 where she studied with Eva Vendrai, Lamar Robertson and Ann Eisen.

Ann Eisen

A retired music teacher from Lake Charles, LA., Ann owns Sneaky Snake Publications. She is coauthor, with Lamar Robertson, of "An American Methodology" and "From Folk Songs to Masterworks," both widely used to teach Kodály educators. She has taught in Kodály Certification courses at universities throughout the US and presented sessions and master classes at local, state, and national OAKE conferences.

Diane Engle

Diane Engle graduated from McNeese State University, Lake Charles, Louisiana, with both Bachelor and Masters of Music Education. She also completed her Kodály Certification at McNeese.

Diane has been an instructor at the Southeast Texas Kodály Certification Program and the Kodály Institute of Houston at the University of Houston for four years. She has taught Pedagogy, Folk Song Analysis, Conducting and Musicianship.

Diane taught 31 years in Louisiana and Texas school districts. She was the assistant director of the Tomball ISD District Children’s Choir and served as chairperson of district honor choirs in both Louisiana and Texas.

Diane owns a piano studio in DeQuincy, Louisiana, which specializes in group piano classes and follows the Kodály sequence of music education. She recently published a piano book for beginners, PLAY AND PLAY, along with the teacher edition which exclusively uses game songs in the small group setting.

Diane is a member of OAKE and LAKE, Louisiana Association of Kodály Educators. She presented a session at the OAKE National Conference in March 2018. She has presented Kodály workshops at several school districts and has presented sessions at both Texas and Louisiana music education conferences. She is currently serving as organist and handbell choir director at DeQuincy United Methodist Church.

Jonathan C. Rappaport

Jonathan C. Rappaport is executive director of Arts/Learning (Medfield, MA), a statewide non-profit organization that advocates for and promotes arts education and systemic education reform, and the Co-Founder/Director emeritus of the Kodály Music Institute, Boston, MA, (founded 1998) where he teaches conducting and advanced pedagogy and materials analysis. Rappaport has published 18 choral works and five books, and is the recipient of numerous awards for his work advocating for the arts in public schools from the MA Music Educators, the MA Alliance for Arts Education, the New England Theatre Conference, and the MA Art Educators Association. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Organization of American Kodály Educators (2017). His graduate study includes an M.M. from New England Conservatory and a Kodály Certificate from the Franz Liszt Academy, Budapest, Hungary.